A poignant memorial service to bring comfort to families
affected by the loss of a baby or child is being organised by Bradford hospital
staff.

The ‘Shared Memories Service’ has been arranged with the aim
of helping bereaved parents overcome their grief and will take place at the
Listening for Life Centre, Bradford Royal Infirmary, part of Bradford Teaching
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, on Saturday, 2 December at 11am.

This will be a simple event which will allow a quiet space
to remember and reflect. It is a multi-faith service open to all – those with
faith and those with no faith - based around the much-loved children’s story,
‘The Snowman’ by Raymond Briggs and will also feature appropriate music and
poems.

Church of England and Free Church Chaplain, the Rev Joe
Fielder, part of the Foundation Trust’s multi-faith chaplaincy team, said: “We
know that the journey of grief can be slow and painful, and that the experience
of loss can be wide – from early miscarriage to the death of a baby or a
child. But we also think that it can be
helpful and supportive to gather and to remember with others, who have shared a
similar heartache.

“Families will be able to talk to each other before and
after the memorial event, and that support is as much a key part as the service
itself.

Separate children’s programme

“We welcome individuals, couples or families. We especially
cater for siblings and will have a separate children’s programme for children
aged 2-12 in an adjacent room. Their journey of grief also needs support.

The event will be run by a number of different staff from
across maternity, paediatrics and chaplaincy. Members of staff who parents and
families may have met during their visits to hospital will be on hand to offer
support or to just simply say ‘hello’.”

Rev Fielder added that people were being encouraged to bring
along any photographs or mementos of their child which would be placed on a
special memory table.

Head of Chaplaincy, Mohammed Arshad said: “Parents who have
attended previous services have commented on how helpful and caring it has been
to see the familiar faces of staff who cared for them and their children.”

Comments from parents have included:

“Having this time and the opportunity to be with other
parents who have been through the same was really important . . . .”

“We did not know what to expect but this was excellent; very
touching, very caring, very special, very thoughtful . . .”

As well as parents, other family members and friends who are
also grieving are welcome to attend.

Supportive environment

Muslim Chaplain, Maryam Riaz said: “The service gives
parents and the wider family – siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, as
well as close family friends – the chance to share feelings and grieve together
as they remember their babies and children, in a supportive environment.

The service will end with a balloon release as a way of
marking respect and love for those who have died.

Families who have lost children or babies at the Trust’s
hospitals in the past 24 months have been sent invitations to attend but anyone
else who thinks they would benefit from the occasion is welcome to attend.

The event will last no more than 45 minutes plus time for
refreshments. For further details, contact the Chaplaincy team on 01274 365819
or email dawn.arnison@bthft.nhs.uk

Bradford Hospitals Charity has kindly given funding for both
this event which has enabled the provision of food, drink and refreshments,
craft materials and balloons and tags for the balloon release.